Sacrifice in the Twilight
by Shadow Oblivion
Summary: Kairi always knew he cared for her. She just never realized how much, and to what lengths he'd go to protect her. Kairi x Axel hints. Character deaths.
1. Chapter 1

Ok...I was going to put this up months ago for Silver Moon Droplet's Axel x Kairi contest last autumn but took too long to finish it. So, here it finally is, part one of either two or three chapters. Rating it M just to be safe, but when the story is done let me know if I was right about the rating. Titles are hard to come up with...

And just to warn you, there will be character deaths later on. Oh, and pretend that the Organization characters are the same age as whatever they are as well as an affinity to their elements, and that Sora, Kairi and Riku are in their early 20s. Hopefully they're IC. Takes place in an AU setting.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts (2).

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Twilight Town's outskirts were beginning to darken from incoming storm clouds. The lone building that stood in the outskirts of town was the only research facility for miles. At the moment, the whole company was focused on a secret project, and their employers would not let their employees speak of it outside the building where someone might overhear them. They couldn't risk their ideas being stolen by an outsider.

It had begun to rain, and in one of the upper floors of the building, a lone worker stayed into the late hour of the night, working. Spiky brunette hair was poking up at odd angles, and blue eyes were focused on a single piece of paper laying on the desk. Sora sighed heavily. The paper he was currently reading made no sense to him whatsoever. He should have had Riku take a look at it before he had left for the day. Sora shrugged, and put the paper away into a drawer. If he couldn't make sense of it, then there was no need for him to stay any longer than he already had. He'd bother Riku about the report in the morning.

Sora stood up and stretched. It was getting late, and no doubt Kairi would begin to worry about him any moment now. Sora sighed again. He felt horrible about not telling Kairi why he didn't stay very long at home. She probably thought that he didn't care about her anymore. But that wasn't the case. Sora cared and loved Kairi very much, and was even considering asking her to marry him any day now. Kairi seemed to be waiting for him to ask her. Sora put on his jacket and exited his office.

He would have liked to spend more time with Kairi, but thought, for the time being, it would be best if he didn't linger too long. Sora entered the elevator, punching a button irately and waited as it went down. Sora frowned slightly. He knew that for the past few weeks someone or something had been tailing him very closely, ever since he had overheard part of a suspicious sounding conversation in a local tavern a month or so ago. It was strange that he had chosen that night to go, when he hardly frequented the tavern at all. Sora exited the elevator, and headed for the main entrance, shaking his head slightly. He had probably just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he hadn't really listened carefully to the conversation. Hell, even right now it was all fuzzy to him. No use worrying about it.

Sora exited the building and, after locking the door, struck off onto a drenched path that would lead him home. It was a few miles away, but seeing as cars had been banned in the city and surrounding area, he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Which was irritating some days when it rained like this. Sora sighed once more as he walked. Whoever was following him, Sora had no intention of allowing them to see how close he was to Kairi. He didn't want her to get involved in something that could bring her harm.

Sora could suddenly hear voices, and he immediately tensed up. Before he could react, something blunt struck him from behind, causing him to collapse to the ground, dazed. Before Sora lost consciousness, his thoughts dwelled on Kairi. What would happen to her if he didn't show up?

_'Kairi.'_

Then Sora knew no more as darkness closed in on him.

121

There was a small, quiet neighborhood a few blocks outside Twilight Town. Everyone in their homes were quiet content and in good spirits, despite the drizzle of rain outside. By midnight, the little neighborhood was silent, owning to the fact that most people were fast asleep. Only one person really seemed to be awake.

On the house that began the street, a young woman stared out the window for the upteenth time. She then resumed pacing back and forth, wringing her hands together worriedly. Why hadn't he come back yet? He was always back by ten thirty, it was the latest he said he'd be home. But her worry had been increasing, as this was the next night, and she still hadn't heard from him.

"Oh Sora, where are you?" The young woman, Kairi, murmured. Surely Sora would call her if he were going to be very late like this?

A knock sounded suddenly on the door, and Kairi approached it hopefully. She opened the door and saw, to her disappointment, that it wasn't Sora. It was their next-door neighbor, Axel, who was currently smiling sheepishly at her. "What is it Axel?" Kairi questioned, masking her growing apprehension. Why in the world wasn't Sora back yet?

Axel's smile turned into one of embarrassment, running a hand through his spiked red hair as he answered, "The power went out in my house. I was wondering if me and my friends could crash here for the night."

"How did the power go out?" Kairi asked, looking mildly surprised.

"We're not really sure, but Zexion thinks there might be a problem with the electric generator, " Axel responded.

Kairi shook her head, hiding a smile, "I wonder how _that _happened."

Axel smirked, "It was probably because Demyx wouldn't stop playing his_ electric_ guitar."

Kairi eyed Axel's hair in amusement, "Or someone maybe used the shower too much."

Axel pouted, "Don't be mean. Can we stay for the night?"

Kairi smiled back at him, "Of course you can, the guest room is always open you know."

Axel adopted a doubtful look, "What about Sora? Are you sure he wouldn't mind?"

Kairi let out an annoyed huff, "You know how he is, but don't worry. He never goes into the guest bedroom anyway."

"And why's that?"

"He thinks it's haunted." Kairi replied with a serious face.

"I see..." Axel said, then he beamed at Kairi, "Great! I'll go get Demyx and Zexion then." He turned and ran off back towards his house.

"You can stay if you promise to get your power fixed tomorrow!" Kairi called after him.

"Promise!"

Kairi shook her head as she let out a soft laugh. Axel was always very nice to her, ever since she and Sora had moved to the neighborhood. The only problem was that Sora disliked Axel, so the only time Kairi could talk to him was when Sora was away at work. Axel always has interesting stories to tell, and it was nice to be with someone else instead of being home all alone. Kairi cared for Sora very much, but thought it was silly that, after all the years together, Sora had never asked her to marry him. Kairi still hoped that someday he would. The arrival of Axel and his two friends brought Kairi out of her thoughts.

"Here we are." Axel said cheerfully, grinning. "Can we come in?"

"Of course."

Axel entered the house, flashing another smile at Kairi as he passed her. Zexion came next, inclining his head in a short bow, before following Axel into the living room. Demyx entered the house last, carrying his guitar with him.

"Th...thanks for letting us come over. It would have been pretty cold in Axel's house tonight," Demyx said, bowing slightly.

"No problem!" Kairi responded.

Demyx smiled back and headed for the living room as well.

Kairi went back over to the door and shut it, locking it out of habit. Kairi then went to the living room where Axel and his friends had gone. Axel was lounging on one side of the couch as Kairi sat down on the opposite end of it. Demyx was seated on a cushioned chair, strumming a soft melody on his guitar. Zexion was on another chair, staring off vacantly into space.

A few moments went by, and, when Demyx paused in his playing, Axel suddenly sat up straight and grinned at Kairi, "So. How's Sora? He still grumpy?"

Kairi sighed sadly, "No, not really...he's just been...away more often. I've only been able to see him at night lately."

Axel frowned as he shook his head, "You'd think he'd want to come back as soon as possible to see a pretty lady like yourself."

Kairi managed a small smile.

Axel continued, waving a hand above his head, "Hell, I'd try to get done early just to race home and meet you in time for dinner, then see you in the morning before going back to work."

"Yes...that would be very nice," Kairi replied, and her expression, which had bee happy, turned sad again.

"Miss him?" Axel questioned softly.

"Of course I do...only...I'm not sure Sora misses me the same. He's usually been indifferent when I've seen him lately." Kari responded, willing herself not to cry.

Axel was about to say something concerning Sora's idiocy, when the phone rang.

Kairi got up and raced to the phone. Was it Sora? She answered it with a tenative, "Hello?" There was a silence as the person on the other end spoke. By the end of the conversation, Kairi had tears streaming down her face, "Okay, thanks for letting me know. Yes, please call me if anything is found out. Thank you Riku. Bye." Kairi hung up the phone, letting tears stream down her face unchecked.

As soon as Axel noticed Kairi crying, he was off the couch immediately and by her side, "What's wrong?" Axel wondered, allowing a now sobbing Kairi to hug him.

"S...Sora didn't show up for work today. He _never _misses work, even if he's a little sick. Riku said they're going to report him missing if he doesn't show up withing 24 hours." Kairi managed to say, hugging Axel more tightly.

Axel patted Kairi's head awkwardly, not really sure what he should do, "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll turn up. Maybe Sora got lost this morning. He does have a bad sense of direction...or it could just have been that it was foggy out." Kairi didn't respond, so Axel gently pried her out of the hug and then led the tearful women back to the couch and had her sit down. Axel grabbed a nearby blanket and drapped it arounf her shoulders, before sitting down next to her and allowing her to use his shoulder as a headrest, as well as a tissue.

"Don't cry too much, you might shrivel up." Axel half-joked, although there was no merriment in his voice. What exactly was going on between Kairi and Sora?

Kairi managed to laugh faintly as she tried to stop crying.

By now, Demyx had stopped playing his guitar all together. It lay against yet another chair, as he and Zexion had been discussing something quietly. The two seemed to come to an agreement.

When neither Axel nor Kairi said anything, Demyx spoke up in a quiet voice, "Kairi?" When Demyx saw Kairi's tear stained face looking at him questioningly, he continued,"Zexion and I can go look for Sora in the morning. Zexion has some connections at his work, so we could trace anything we learn to look for him..." Demyx was cut off as Kairi flung herself onto him in a tight hug.

Kairi let go of the bewildered Demyx, smiling happily at him, "Would you and Zexion really do that for me?"

Demyx recovered from the sudden hug and smiled brightly, "Of course! That's what friends are for. We're glad to help, right Zexion?"

Zexion nodded his head in agreement, allowing Kairi to hug him as well. When Kairi had retreated to the couch, Zexion spoke,"Axel is right, you shouldn't cry too much. I understand how you feel, but you are much prettier when you smile."

Kairi smiled, attempting to stop her tears but being unsuccesful. She was so worried about Sora. "Thank you, Zexion."

Axel handed Kairi a real tissue," You should go and get some rest. Demyx and Zexion can handle looking for Sora, and I can handle fixing my house's power." Axel stood up, shoving Zexion and Demyx towards the guest room, waving good-night to Kairi as he went, "Nighty night princess, see you in the morning."

Kairi half-heartedly made as if to chase after him, causing the red head to drag his friend off to the room, laughing the whole way. Kairi shook her head and lay down on the couch, snuggling underneath the blanket, smiling faintly. She was glad that Axel was there to look out for her when Sora wasn't around. Kairi soon drifted to sleep, deciding to stay on the couch. since she didn't want to go to bed in her own room without Sora there too. In the guest bedroom, Demyx and Zexion were already fast asleep.

Axel, however, remained awake, staring at the ceiling, his mind racing. Why wouldn't Sora have told Kairi anything? Surely he would have confided anything important to her? Axel rolled onto his side, eyes closed. He could faintly make out Kairi trying not to cry in the other room. Axel frowned. When he found Sora, he'd give that idiot a piece of his mind. How dare he make Kairi worry so much! He'd have to try to get her to cheer up in the morning, help her with her worries, even if only for a little while.

121

The following morning...

Kairi brushed a hand across her nose. It tickled and the feeling wouldn't go away. Kairi came wide awake, narrowing her eyes at a grinning Axel who was holding a feather.

"Morning sleepyhead." Axel said cheerfully.

Kairi cast him a withering look as she sat up, clutching the blanket around her shoulders. The house felt rather chilly this morning.

Seeing Kairi's shiver, Axel commented,"I noticed that you forgot to turn on the heat, so i did a little while ago. I also started up some tea. You like to have that in the morning, right?"

Kairi smiled, standing up and heading for the kitchen,"Yes I do, thank you." Kairi cast an amused look over her shoulder at Axel, who was trailing her and looking hopeful,"I suppose you're hungry. Would you like something to eat while you're here?"

"You read my mind." Axel said with a smirk.

Kairi rolled her eyes and swatted Axel playfully. "I'll make some pancakes. Would you mind checking on the tea?"

"Sure thing." Axel dodged another swat from Kairi as he went by first into the kitchen.

Kairi went right for a cupboard wherre she kept the pancake mix. While she was making the batter, Kairi snuck a glance over in Axel's direction, and smiled as he was debating what flavor tea to use. Finally kairi spoke,"Just use the Earl Grey Axel."

Axel looked over at Kairi, flashed a smile, and turned to grab the tea bag. "Right away princess!"

Kairi rolled her eyes as she carried the batter over to the stove, where Axel tried to take it from her, holding a pan in his other hand.

"I can do that. You can get the tea when it's ready. You know better than me how long it's supposed to steep." Axel glanced at the pancake batter. "I suppose we should have some plates too."

Kairi relented after a moment, relinquishing her grasp on the batter and went to go check on the tea. A minute or so later, Kairi lifted the tea pot carefully and carried it over to the table, where she set it down on a hot pad. She also went and grabbed some silverware, momentarily saddened when she remembered that Sora had bought the silverware. Shaking her head lightly, Kairi sat down on one of the chairs and watched in amusement as Axel attempted to flip the pancakes.

The first pancake hit the ceiling as Axel whooped out loud, "Whoa! Look at it go! That one went too high."

Seconds later, Demyx and Zexion entered the kitchen, dressed in new clothing and looking about ready to leave.

Zexion gave a soft sigh and twisted to one side as a pancake flew past where he had been standing previously.

"Sorry!" Axel exclaimed, waving the now empty frying pan.

Kairi was out of her seat and wrestling the pan from Axel's grasp. Once freed, Kairi placed the pan back on the burner and poured some batter onto it. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Axel gave her hurt expression, before dragging his feet as he walked to a chair and sulked at the kitchen table.

Kairi ignored him, knowing that Axel could be melodramatic sometimes. She cooked a few pancakes, before carrying them on a plate over to the table.

Axel was smiling again as the pancakes were set down on the table. He began to reach for them but withdrew his hand after Kairi had rapped it lightly with a spatula. "Not yet." Kairi glanced over at Demyx and Zexion. "Would you two like any pancakes before you go?"

Zexion shook his head. "No, we should probably get going. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves."

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked, looking concerned. She didn't notice Axel sneak a pancake from the plate, causing the red-head to grin as he munched away at his prize.

Zexion shook his head, not wanting to answer. Demyx was looking longingly at the pancakes.

Kairi sighed, but knew it was nearly impossible to squeeze out any information from Zexion unless he were willing to give it out on his own. Smiling at Demyx's hungry expression locked on the pancakes and swatting Axel's hand again, Kairi spoke, "I can make you something when you two get back, okay?"

"Mmm, okay." Demyx responded, as he was ushered out of the house by Zexion, who paused to speak to Kairi.

"We'll call you as soon as we find anything useful."

"Thank you Zexion." Kairi replied, and watched as Demyx and Zexion left the house and headed for the sidewalk that would lead them to the research facility miles away. Once they were out of sight, Kairi shut and locked the door, before returning to the kitchen. Kairi then turned her attention to finishing up with making pancakes. Once she was done, Kairi turned off the stove and put the pan in the dishwasher. Kairi picked up the plate of pancakes and carried them over to the table. After grabbing two teacups, she sat down at the table again. She was sitting across from Axel, who was resting his head on the table and eyeing the closest plate of pancakes with a hopeful expression.

Axel licked his lips, mouth watering at the sight of the delicious-smelling food.

Kairi busied herself by pouring the tea, "You can eat now Axel."

Axel immideatley stabbed a pancake with a fork and put it on a plate in front of him. "Mm! Your cooking is great as always." Axel glanced across the table at Kairi with a pout, "But why wouldn't you let _me _cook?"

Kairi set a cup of tea in front of Axel, as she took a sip of tea from her own. "I don't need pancakes flying all over the place." She pointed to the ceiling with her fork, indicating the pancake stuck there. " You'll need to clean up that one as well as the pancake that you meant to hit Zexion with."

Axel stuffed a large amount of pancake in his mouth. "Mmpf, hmm meh?"

Kairi couldn't help but giggle at Axel's ridiculous expression.

121

Zexion and Demyx arrived outside the research facility where Sora worked. Both were somewhat surprised that some policemen were outside the building, questioning people who went in and out of it. Zexion skirted the front of the building, motioning for Demyx to follow. Zexion led Demyx along the alleyway to the back of the building.

Demyx followed Zexion closely, eying the darkened alleyway nervously. "Where are we going Zexion? I thought we were going through the front door."

"Not with all of those cops around. Besides, we don't know if any of the employees may have had to do with why Sora isn't around." Zexion responded calmly as he made his way to a door at the back of the research facility.

"You think so?" Demyx questioned. "But who would want to do anything to Sora?"

"..." Zexion stepped up to the back door.

Demyx halted next to Zexion, eyeing the door doubtfully. "It doesn't look like we can get in from this side."

Zexion ignored Demyx as he knocked on the door in a kind of pattern. _Knock-knockity-knock-knock-Bang-knock_

There was a pause, then someone opened the door a bit to peer outside.

"It's me." Zexion stated clearly and urgently.

The door immediately opened wide, allowing Demyx and Zexion to come inside. Once in, the two were confronted by a large figure.

Demyx stared up at the man in open-mouthed surprise, while Zexion merely nodded to the tall man. "Good morning Lexaeus, how are you?"

The tall man, Lexaues, nodded back, "I'm fine...what brings you here? Who's your friend?" Lexaeus cast an amused glance in Demyx's direction. Zexion kicked Demyx lightly to bring him out of his surprise and replied, "This is Demyx, he's another friend of mine." Zexion looked away from Demyx, who had begun to apologize, and back to Lexaeus. "We're here because we wanted to ask you some questions about Sora."

Lexaeus suddenly appeared to be uncomfortable. "Ah, that. I was wondering when people would start to get worried."

"The police are already beginning to question others in the building." Zexion said.

Lexaeus glanced around, as if expecting someone to be eavesdropping. Lexaeus then lowered his voice. "I heard that Sora had run into some trouble with a group of people for overhearing some of their conversation at a tavern a few weeks back. I had actually just sent someone a few hours ago to check on that lead. I have heard that that group usually doesn't just target one person, but anyone that they may have contact with."

"Hmm, but they wouldn't go after any of the other employees, because they all leave around the same time. Only Riku and Sora usually leave late..." Zexion mused, then stopped and looked sharply at Lexaeus. "Is Riku still around?"

"Oh, yes, and he's quite worried with Sora not showing up to work." Lexaeus replied.

But Zexion's mind was what Lexaeus had said before. About the group that targets those who had contact with the culprit. Since the employees were safe and Riku was as well, that meant...Zexion's yes widened. They couldn't know about Kairi, could they?

"Phone." Zexion snapped suddenly at Demyx, who immediately began to fumble around in his pockets for said item. "Hurry." Zexion urged irritably.

121

Kairi busied herself by cleaning up after breakfast. She had said good-bye to Axel, who had left for his own house, promising to get his power fixed. Kairi put away some plates. She really didn't mind Axel coming over to visit. It was nice to have someone to talk to when you were alone for most of the day. Kairi didn't notice a shadow pass by the kitchen window, an ominous clink sound accompanying it.

Next door, Axel was having a heated argument with a repairman.

"What do you mean you're busy all week?"

"I'm sorry sir, but others have been having electrical problems lately. Twilight Town's electic grid has been off this month." The repairman said apologetically.

"I need to get it fixed. Don't you have any openings today or tomorrow?"

"Let me check."

"Dammit." Axel muttered as he heard the repairman set the phone down, and by the sound of it, was looking through his paper schedule. Axel tapped his foot on the ground in annoyance.

the repairman got back to him minutes later, and Axel argued a bit more before finally agreeing to have them come over the next day to fix his power. Axel hung up and stowed the cell phone away, sighing dejectedly. "Kairi's going to be annoyed..." Axel muttered, his eyes straying to the living room window that faced Kairi's house. He froze, spotting a black-clad figure attempting to break into the back door of Kairi's house.

Axel whipped out his cell phone, but found, to his irritation, that it had run out of power. "Just my luck...," Axel grumbled, then headed for his house's back door. Making sure he locked the door after him, Axel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The person in black hadn't managed to break in, and at the moment was very glad that Kairi always had the doors securely locked. Bracing himself, Axel raced across the yard, making a beeline for what he believed was an intruder. _'Hope he doesn't have a weapon on him...' _Axel thought as he ran.

121

Kairi had just finished up with cleaning and was thinking about checking the garden out back when the phone rang. Kairi abandoned her plans as she picked up the phone. Was it Sora?

"Kairi?"

"Oh, hello Demyx." Kairi said, hiding her disappointment. "Have you found anything out?" Kairi questioned. She heard the phone on the other line being fumbled with, and Zexion was suddenly speaking in a serious tone.

"Are all of the doors locked? The windows?"

Kairi blinked in surprise, "Yes, of course they are. Why?"

"Don't leave the house alone. Demyx and I found out that an organization was targeting Sora because he overheard one of their conversations, some of which included stealing information. One of my informants thinks that when they figured out where he worked, and that they wanted to know about the projects his company was working on. So, we may know why he's disappeared, but...you must not leave the house on your own." Zexion took a breath, then continued. "We've spoken to Riku only moments ago, and he said he was targeted as well but managed to get away."

"Riku? Why would these people you're talking about go after him?" Kairi wondered.

"We think that he may have known some passcode to get into strictly prohibited areas of the building. The other person would be the director themselves...and Sora." Zexion responded, "If they want to get in the building, then they'd need to force the passcode out of Sora..."

"But Sora wouldn't do that, so he's in danger?" Kairi asked apprehensively.

"We're not positive, but Sora may have managed to slip away and doesn't want to show himself. But the people who were after him must know about you, even if Sora was only there occasionally. We'll keep you updated if we learn anything else, but for the time being, be careful." Zexion stated in a calm voice.

"I will Zexion, thank you. I'll call Axel, I should be safe with him around..." Kairi broke off, hearing a crash, accompanied by swearing, from the backyard.

"You damned bastard! Where the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Dammit!"

"Yeah, you better run you prick! Wait 'till I get my hands on you!"

"Persistent pest!"

"What was that?" Zexion asked, sounding alarmed.

"I'm not sure. I'll take a look out the window and see." Kairi hurried over to the kitchen window in time to see Axel chasing off a figure clad in black. Kairi felt a chill go down her spine. Where had that figure come from?

"Kairi? Kairi! What is it?" Zexion exclaimed from the other end of the line.

"Axel...he...he just chased a man in black away from the house. I need to hang up, I think he's hurt." Kairi said urgently, seeing Axel limp towards the house.

"Very well, we'll call when we hear more."

"Right, thank you Zexion." Kairi hung up the phone and hurried to the front door, opening it to allow Axel inside.

Axel came in, flashing Kairi a small smile as he limped to the couch in the living room.

Kairi shut the door and locked it, glad now that she always remembered to lock it. What would have happened if that person had gotten into the house? Shaking her head, she rushed to the nearest bathroom and gathered some medical supplies. She then went into her bedroom and came out with some spare clothing. Kairi set what she was carrying onto the nearest chair, then looked over at Axel, who was sitting gingerly on the couch, "Are you all right?" Kairi bit her lip when she saw his injuries.

Axel's left leg had a shallow gash bleeding on one thigh, his right arm cut and bleeding from the shoulder to the elbow. A slightly larger, deeper gash ran across his chest, staining the front of his shirt crimson. Axel caught Kairi's look, and managed to give her an amused smile, "I'll be fine, don't worry. That guy wasn't being very nice, he was trying to break the back door open. I told him to clear off, but of course, instead of leaving he went after me instead. That's when I got slashed on my arm and across my chest. I managed to orient myself and gave him a good kick. Got my leg though. Took off after that." Axel winced, sighing slightly. "Went after him, but he got away. Wonder who he was..."

"Well...Demyx and Zexion called. They said that Sora might be targeted because of hearing a conversation, but also because he's one of the only people who knows some code to get into a top secret area or something in the facility. Zexion also said I shouldn't leave the house by myself." Kairi told him, turning to grab the medical supplies.

"Hmm..." Axel hummed, drumming his fingers together in thought.

"Let me take a look at your injuries. I can't believe you. What would you have done if they had a gun?" Kairi scolded, indicating for Axel to take his shirt off.

Axel shrugged out of his shirt, wincing and cursing as Kairi immediately set upon it with ointment. "Ngh, dammit, that stings! Well, I could have asked him politley to drop it so we could talk things out. Then I could find something heavy to throw when he was doing that...oww! Careful!"

"Don't be stupid. You couldn't do that." Kairi bandaged the injuries, hoping that Axel wouldn't need stitches. That was one thing she couldn't do. She backed off momentarily, and there was a silence as she and Axel glanced down at his injured thigh. Kairi abruptly blushed and looked away. "I'll need to treat that too I suppose. You better have boxers on this time." She had unfortunately seen Axel and a few of his buddies drunk on New Year's Eve, wearing nothing but speedos or underwear. She had no desire to ever see anything like that again. Kairi also had a hard time denying that she had kind of found Axel attractive even when he was completely smashed. Kairi blushed. Why was she thinking that? She loved Sora...

Axel removed his pants unabashedly, speaking as he did," Don't worry, I have boxers on." He settled back on the couch with a wry grin, "You know you like it."

Kairi turned, keeping her gaze firmly on Axel's injured thigh, and not the boxers, deciding not to comment. She cleaned the injury, applied some medication and wrapped it up with bandages. Kairi stood up and went back to the chair to grab the clothing she had gotten before. Kairi turned back to see Axel lounging more comfortably on the couch, grinning. Kairi gave him a bored look. She was used to Axel's weird way of flirting. It was fine, since he knew that she and Sora were going out. Axel still liked to flirt nonetheless. Kairi's bored look turned to one of mock irritation. "You can't be in the house without more clothing on."

Axel merely grinned cheekily in reply.

Kairi crossed her arms, unable to not glance at Axel's boxers. "Why are there flames on your boxers?"

Axel appeared to have been waiting for this question, because his grinned widened,"Because I have a blazing personality." His response was a shirt and pants flung at his head.

Karii had her hands on her hips. "Okay Mr. Hotshot, put the clothes on."

Axel shook the clothes off his head and pouted. "All right." he pulled on the shirt first. It had a picture of a moogle on it. Axel gave it an amused upside down glance as he wrggled into the pants, wincing. "Is this your shirt?"

Kairi giggled. "No, it's Sora's. He practically begged to get it at a thrift shop. It was funny to watch."

Axel snickered. "Who knew Mr. Depressing liked fluffy moogles." He poked at the shirt, still highly amused.

"Look who's talking," Kairi laughed back. Silence fell, then "Are you going to get your power fixed today?"

Axel heaved a sigh. "The guy was being annoying. The earliest he could get over in this area was tomorrow morning."

"So, you'll need to stay over again?" Kairi asked, smiling mischiveously. "I don't know...you promised to get it fixed today."

Axel looked at Kairi with puppy dog eyes. "You wouldn't leave me out in the cold, would you?"

Kairi sat down on the couch and gave him a playful shove. "Of course not. You're more than welcome here." Since Axel was smiling again, Kairi added. "As long as you help me with some of the chores."

Axel's expression turned into one of weariness, and he sprawled on the couch, groaning, "Ohh...I'm too weak to do any chores. I need sleep and something to eat to get my strength back..." Axel sighed dramatically and lay limp on the couch.

Kairi held back her laughter and poked Axel in the stomach, drawing forth an immediate reaction.

Axel doubled over with a laugh, drawing away from Kairi and leaning against a cushion. "No fair." Axel muttered, massaging his stomach with a hurt expression.

"I think you're fine Axel. Come on, help me with the landry. I'll fix your clothes once they're clean." Kairi stated, standing up and heading for the laundry room.

Axel rose, and, grabbing his clothing, followed after her, complaining. "You're a slave driver."

"Hmm, I wonder. Don't you like helping out?"

"..."

When the two were out of view, a shadow passed across the living room. Neither Axel nor Kairi noticed that a figure outside the house had been observing them from a window. Once Kairi and Axel were out of view, it had left from behind the window.

121

Zexion and Demyx, after learning a few more facts from Lexaeus, left the building and exited into the alleyway.

Zexion was immediately on alert as soon as he had left the building, glancing around suspiciously.

"What is it Zexion?" Demyx whispered, joining his friend in looking around.

"Damn." Zexion muttered, then, without warning, shoved Demyx roughly to one side.

Demyx let out a startled cry and stumbled backwards towards the door they had come out of. Demyx winced and glanced up, in time to see Zexion take a crushing blow to the head, which knocked him out, where he lay prone on the ground. Demyx scrambled to his feet and began to bang on the door. "Help! Help! Lexaeus! Help!"

The door opened abruptly, and Lexaeus came out. He assessed the situation, darting out to grab Zexion, then back to Demyx, who was still in shock. Lexaeus slammed the door shut and locking it behind him, angry cries issuing from behind it.

Lexaeus lay Zexion down on his back on the ground, and turned to Demyx, who was kneeling next to Zexion, looking frightened, still in shock over what happened. "Stay here with Zexion. I'll get an ambulence."

"Thank you." Demyx said quietly, as Lexaeus left the room momentarily. Demyx glanced down at Zexion with a sadened expression. "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. Thanks for getting me out of the way."

121

Kairi and Axel chatted as they waited for the laundry to be finished. But the cheerful atmosphere didn't last for long. Kairi and Axel were interrupted as they had begun to argue over where the best place was to go to meet friends. Axel was arguing in favor of a party place, while Kairi argued for a more quiet atmosphere, but wasn't saying where she thought that was. A soft knock on the front door caused both if them to jump.

"Stay here." Axel murmured, heading towards the front door cautiously. "Who is it?" Axel demanded gruffly, bracing himself. He was surprised when it was a familiar voice that answered.

"It's me, can I come inside?" The voice was unmistakibley Riku's.

Axel opened the door and allowed Riku to come inside. Axel made to shut the door, but Riku stopped him. Frowning, Axel turned to face Riku. "Have you heard from Sora at all?"

Riku shook his head. "No, not a word...but that may be a good sign. If Sora was able to give those people the slip..."

"Axel? Who is it? Oh! Riku!" Kairi came from the laundry room to see what had been taking Axel so long. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just stopping by to check on you. I'm sure this must be hard on you." Riku responded, a faint smile creasing his face.

"Oh Riku, it's nice that you're worried too. I'll be fine, I just hope that Sora'll turn up soon." Kairi told Riku, who merely nodded in agreement.

Riku turned his attention to Axel, noticing his limp. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. It's not a big deal." Axel said casually.

"Well, I should really get going. I need to make sure I get to work. I just wanted to see how you were doing Kairi. If I hear anything about Sora, I'll let you know, okay?" Riku nodded to Axel, gave another small, fleeting smile to kairi, before turning and exiting the still-open door.

Kairi went to shut the door. "Thank you Riku." She watched him raise a hand in farewell, as he walked along the sidewalk. Kairi closed the door, locking it. Kairi headed back to the laundry room, followed by Axel, who seemed to be thinking about something. Once the laundry was done, Kairi and Axel went back into the living room, where Kairi began to fix Axel's clothing. Neither noticed that someone had been in the house and gone earlier. They had left no sign that they had been there. In any case, Kairi and Axel didin't think anything was amiss.

Kairi shivered suddenly. "Axel, is it a bit chilly in here?"

Axel glanced up from a lamp he was fiddling with. Axel shrugged as he set the lamp down on a nearby table, "It's not too bad. Want me to turn up the heat?"

Kairi stopped sewing and set it aside. "No, I can. You really shouldn't be with those injuries." Kairi stood up and walked over to where the thermostat was and pressed a few buttons. Nothing happened. Kairi frowned. "That's strange, I thought Sora had fixed it. And you turned it on this morning."

Axel leaned forward and tilted his head, so that he could see Kairi and her troubled expression. Axel stood up, stretching, "Would you like me to go check the generator? I know what's wrong with the one at my house, so I could check and see if we have the same problems."

Kairi wanted to argue, but relented, seeing that Axel was eager for something to do. Kairi smiled, "All right, but don't overexert yourself."

Right princess." Axel answered.

Kairi rolled her eyes, but walked off towards the basement, Axel trotting along next to her with a grin. Both stopped when the phone rang.

"Maybe that's news about Sora..." Kairi murmured, hurrying to answer the phone.

Axel hovered by the entrance to the basement, wondering what to do. Deciding that Kairi could deal with the phone, he would deal with the furnace. Axel descended the stairs, holding onto the railing for support. Axel got to the bottom of the stairs and approached the furnace.

Almost immediately, Axel noticed that something was wrong. Axel's eyes caught sight of something next to the furnace. Axel gave it one look, before dashing up the stairs as quickly as his injuries would allow.

Back in the basement, next to the generator, a box was latched to it. Neon numbers were glowing ominously.

121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212

And the story will get significantly more violent in the next chapter, so hopefully I can get the next part typed up and posted within a few days. While that's going on, how is this for an AU story? I was only going on a Kairi x Axel pairing for the challenge. Is it any good so far?


	2. Chapter 2

I honestly have no idea why it took me so long to update. The story will now be about 4-6 chapters. Sorry about the long wait, but I am finally motivated and determined to finish this story. I did appreciate the reviews, I just had trouble getting the next chapter written out in a way that made sense.

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

-x-x-

Kairi answered the phone, hoping that it was either Sora or news concerning him. She identified the voice on the other end as Demyx. Kairi could tell that something was wrong based on the tone of his voice, "Demyx? Are you all right? Where are you?"

Demyx's voice came back in a broken tone, "The hospital. It's Zexion. He got hurt while we were learning some information. The doctor says he'll make it, if he manages to wake up."

"Oh Demyx, I'm sorry," Kairi said sympathetically, "You should come back here. It'll be safer. I don't want you to get hurt too."

"Okay, but…Oh! I'm so stupid!" Demyx suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" Kairi asked in surprise.

"Lexaeus came to the hospital with me us. He told me that the organization knows where you live. Axel too! Go over to my house. I can meet you there. It should be safe, for a little while at least." Demyx responded, his voice tense and urgent.

Kairi was going to ask who was after them, but decided that that could wait, "All right," Kairi told Demyx, before she let out a gasp as Axel stumbled into the room, his face ashen, "Axel? What's wrong?"

Axel snatched the phone, "Demyx? Oh, it is you. We're getting out of the house, now. We'll hide out at my place, then go to yours. Okay? Yeah, see you." Axel hung up, then turned and grabbed Kairi by her shoulders, "Anything that's really valuable to you, grab it and put it into a bag. One that's easy to carry. Hurry, don't ask questions."

Kairi took off at once, straight to her bedroom, grabbing a shoulder purse. Axel's expression and voice unnerved her, since she couldn't remember the last time she had ever heard him frightened. Kairi stuffed a few precious items into the purse, including some photos, and a box of important papers she may need if anything happened to the house. The last thing she grabbed before leaving the room was a tiny statue. Nearly out of breath with worry, Kairi ran out of the room and didn't protest when Axel led her out of the house. Kairi didn't notice Axel looking around his surroundings carefully.

Axel didn't see anyone lurking around, so he fumbled around for his house keys. Once he got it open, Axel ushered Kairi inside, closing and locking the door behind him.

Kairi was silent as Axel moved two chairs away from the windows, and moved them to one side of the front door, "Wait here. I'll be right back." Axel turned and went upstairs, swallowed up by the darkness.

Kairi shivered, but not from the cold. What on earth was going on? She sunk onto the nearest of the chairs, clutching her bag. Where they after her because of Sora? Was it because of the problems Sora had been having with some people?

Axel returned shortly, carrying a backpack that had been filled a third full. Axel set the open backpack down in front of Kairi, "Here, put your bag in here. We may have to run, and a backpacks easier to carry."

Kairi placed the bag in the backpack, and as Axel was zipping it up, a loud explosion resounded, shaking the house.

Kairi let out a cry and fell forward off the chair, grabbing the closest thing to her for support. Axel. She clung to him tightly as she spoke in a quiet voice, "W…What was that?"

Axel swallowed, hugging Kairi tightly. Once he could speak, he did so in a shaky tone, "There was a bomb…locked to the furnace in your basement."

Kairi gasped in shock, "But…how?"

Axel shook his head, "Someone must have been able to get into the house. We shouldn't stay in this house for long either. That guy I tangled with earlier must have had friends." Axel scowled, "It must have been the people Sora's supposed to have been having trouble with."

"We should go to Demyx's right?" Kairi asked softly, realizing that Axel was hugging her rather closely. She fought back a blush. She couldn't get involved with the other redhead; it wouldn't be fair to Sora when he came back.

Axel seemed oblivious as he spoke quietly, "We should go. I really hope Demyx remembered to call the cops. We'd just have to get to his house without being caught out in the open…" Axel drifted off. Then he seemed to realize that he was still holding Kairi in a hug, and quickly released her from it as he stood up and went into a nearby room.

"Axel?"

Axel came back, carrying a vest, "Here. Put this on under your sweater."

Kairi accepted the vest, wondering vaguely why it was so heavy. She glared at Axel until he took the hint and turned around. Kairi quickly removed her sweater and put the vest on. As soon as Kairi got her vest on, and put her sweater back on over it, a crash could be heard from the back door. The sound of glass breaking.

"Time to go." Axel slung the backpack over his shoulders, and grabbed one of Kairi's hands. "We're going to run." Axel unlocked the front door, and both he and Kairi broke into a fast pace run. Axel hoped to get out of sight before the intruders inside his house realized that they weren't in the house anymore. Axel glanced over his shoulder as muffled shouts rang out. Axel heaved a sigh. Of course they had been spotted. Axel turned his focus in the direction they were running, silently glad that Kairi hadn't looked back. The sight of her house looking like a large tornado had ripped through would have been unpleasant and stressful.

"Axel."

Axel gave Kairi's hand a reassuring squeeze, "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."

Kairi looked away in order to hide her blush, "Thank you, Axel." Kairi decided to focus on running. She hadn't run so fast before, so she hoped she could keep up with Axel and pray that her legs didn't give out.

Axel could sense that Kairi wouldn't be able to run at this pace for much longer. He probably couldn't either, because of his injuries. Axel ignored the throbbing pain in his left calf as he tired to think of whose house was the closest. He then remembered that Marluxia's was the closest, and hoped that he and Larxene wouldn't mind them stopping by momentarily.

The shouts behind them grew fainter as Axel and Kairi approached a fairly large house. Axel found, to his relief, that Marluxia and Larxene were lounging outside underneath the afternoon sun. Axel and Kairi drew nearer, alerting the occupants that they had visitors.

"Hey! Where's the fire?" Larxene asked mockingly, as Marluxia stared at the panting pair with a bored expression.

"We're...being followed," Axel managed to pant. As soon as he caught his breath, he continued, "Someone put a bomb in Kairi's house, and then broke into mine. We managed to get ahead of them, but not for very long. They'll catch up soon." As if to verify this, shouts could now clearly be heard from the direction Axel and Kairi had come running from.

Both Larxene and Marluxia appeared surprised, before they were suddenly wearing nearly identical evil smiles. Larxene addressed Axel, "If you two need help to hold them off, we can help out, I guess..."

Marluxia grinned at Larxene, "We can't get thrown into prison for this," Marluxia and Larxene retreated into the house, before emerging with weapons. Larxene was holding a box full of new kitchen knives and Marluxia was shouldering a staff with a curved blade attached to it. Seeing Axel and Kairi's doubtful expressions, Marluxia shrugged, "We were going to use these for Halloween, but I think they'd be better use against someone that tried to blow you up."

Kairi wanted to tell them not to do anything rash, but Axel cut her off after flashing a grateful smile at the Marluxia and Larxene, "Thanks, but don't get yourselves killed or arrested. Get away if it gets to be too dangerous."

Marluxia ran a hand lightly along the blade of his makeshift scythe and nodded, "Very well, if it gets to that point, we will."

Larxene pushed past Axel and Kairi to join Marluxia at the edge of the sidewalk, "Get going already. You're wasting time."

Axel grabbed Kairi's hand again, and the two of them ran off.

Larxene peered down the road, smiling a bit when she saw people heading in their direction. She cast a sideways glance at Marluxia, "So, how long do you think we can hold them off?"

Marluxia smiled faintly, "As long as we please. We will stay until we're on dangerous grounds." Marluxia offered a wicked grin, "...Like when we're about to be arrested."

Larxene returned the grin, twirling one of her knives, "So we keep beating the bastards until the cops show up." Larxene flipped the knife up and caught it by the blade, "I like that plan."

-x-

Kairi glanced over her shoulder as she and Axel ran, "Will they be all right?"

"They'll be fine. They've been in worse situations before. Don't ask," Axel responded, with a sigh, "We should really be worried about ourselves. I hope we can get to Demyx's without being followed."

As Kairi ran, she thought about Sora, hoping that he would come back soon so that she could see him again.

Ten minutes later...

Axel and Kairi arrived at Demyx's house, breathless, their pursuers behind them for the time being. Axel knocked on the door quickly, "Demyx! Open the door." Axel stepped back, hearing the lock being fumbled with, and saw Demyx's frightened face as he opened the door. Demyx backed away to allow Axel and Kairi to come inside. Axel watched as Demyx locked the door again with shaking hands.

"Stay away from the windows, just in case," Demyx warned quietly, as Kairi and Axel sat down on a couch.

Kairi let out a little gasp as Riku entered the room from the kitchen, "Riku!"

Riku slumped down onto a chair across from the couch and offered Kairi a thin smile, "I asked Demyx if I could lay low at his house for a bit. I guess I was right that they might come after me as well."

Demyx sat down on a chair next to Riku's, "I would have told you over the phone, but I was so worried that I forgot to mention it."

"It's all right, Demyx," Kairi responded, smiling reassuringly at him until he returned the smile tentatively.

Axel turned his attention away from Demyx and focused on Riku, "Hey man, you heard from Sora at all?"

Riku shook his head, "No, nothing. We can only hope he found somewhere safe to stay."

Demyx frowned, "Axel, how did you and Kairi get here so quickly? I didn't think you'd be here for at least another hour or two."

"Someone put a bomb in Kairi's basement, then broke into my house when we went there. We got away, and right now, Marluxia and Larxene are holding the people off," Axel rested wearily against the couch. He didn't protest when Kairi leaned up against him and grasped one of his hands again as she spoke to Demyx.

"Did you call the police?" Kairi wondered, looking anxious.

Demyx nodded, "Yes, they're already here. They're waiting for the people that were after you to show up," Demyx glanced at a nearby window.

"Think they'll show up soon?" Riku questioned Demyx, turning his searching gaze away from Axel and Kairi.

Kairi was worried about this, but then a thought suddenly occurred to her. Kairi sat up straight suddenly, causing the three men in the room to stare at her in surprise, "Oh! Demyx, how is Zexion doing?"

Seeing the concern evident on Kairi's face, Axel sat up straight as well, looking alarmed, "What?" Axel glanced at Demyx, "What happened to him?"

"He's in the hospital," Kairi said in a small voice.

"How?" Axel exclaimed, letting go of Kairi's hand and leaping to his feet. Why hadn't he heard any of this? Was it when he was in the basement at Kairi's?

Demyx's gaze was on the floor, "He got injured after we learned some info about Sora. Lexaeus and I managed to get Zexion out of the way. We got somewhere where we couldn't be attacked again."

Axel sat back down, running a hand through his hair and letting out a disbelieving sigh, "Is he going to be all right?"

Demyx looked up, "I got a phone call from one of the nurses. She said that he was awake, but that he'll need to stay there for a few days to make sure there's no lasting complications."

"At least he'll be okay then. That's a relief," Kairi stated, leaning up against Axel again and allowing him to put an arm around her in a half-hug, "I hope Sora will be fine too."

Riku had averted his eyes, nodding silently in agreement with Kairi, as though he hoped for the same thing.

Axel saw that Demyx appeared to want to say something more, but couldn't bring himself to say it. That struck Axel as somewhat ominous, and made him uneasy. Axel was about to ask Demyx what was wrong, when a bullet crashed through the window without warning. Axel pulled Kairi down to the ground, out of harm's way. The red head saw that Demyx was already down on the ground. Riku was laying flat nearby, head turned in the direction of the gunshot.

"They're here," Demyx whispered into the walkie-talkie he held in one hand. Then, he edged towards a wall, out of view of the window the gunshot had come from. Axel, Riku and Kairi followed. All four stood up and glanced at one another, except for Riku, who was still looking in the direction of where the attack had come from, wearing a scowl.

"What now?" Kairi whispered, gripping one of Axel's arms tightly.

"The police are in the backyard. They'll surround the intruders," Demyx replied softly.

"We should get out of here. Now." Axel muttered.

"Too late for that," A sinister voice commented.

Axel threw himself in front of Kairi and Demyx, letting out a strangled cry as a bullet lodged itself in his left shoulder. "Run!" Axel gasped, turning and grabbing the nearest object, a metal coat hanger, and threw it out the window, where a one-eyed intruder had poked his head in. The man fell back with a yelp, dropping his gun in the process. Axel moved froward to throw a blunt ornamental object, when he was thrown backwards by a man with large sideburns. Another man had followed in through the windows, shuffling a deck of cards for some reason or another. Axel decided he should probably get the hell out of there and fast.

Kairi, in the meantime, was led toward the back door by Riku and Demyx as police came in past them into the house. Kairi called to them, "Don't hurt Axel! He's the one with the red hair!" Worried, Kairi allowed herself to be swept out the door by Demyx and Riku.

Riku cast a glance over his shoulder, wearing an unreadable expression.

A half-hour later...

The three intruders were being shoved roughly into a police car by a silver haired, orange eyed cop.

Nearby, Axel was being supported by Marluxia, who had come over to Demyx's house to check on things. Marluxia had a gunshot wound to his right arm, and a few scratches here and there. On Marluxia's other side, Larxene was leaning up against him, clutching a light slash wound beneath her chest. Despite this, she was looking very pleased with herself for all of the damage she had caused in return. All three of them were waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

Axel coughed lightly, trying to stop himself from shaking at the adrenaline surge he had received from being shot, "Didn't you manage to hurt any of those guys?"

Larxene snickered, "Oh, we did get them pretty good. One guy ran off like a stupid little baby. He wasn't even that hurt."

"Hmpf, I would have gotten that guy with the eye patch if he hadn't shot my arm. I couldn't swing the damn scythe after that. Stupid bastard," Marluxia growled unhappily.

Axel was silent as he watched Demyx's house, hoping that Demyx, Kairi and Riku were all right. They hadn't shown up yet from the backyard yet. They had gotten out of the house, hadn't they? A moment of panic washed over Axel. What if there were more of the people from the organization, waiting for the cops to leave the area to strike? Had Kairi and the others been kidnapped? Axel was considering going to look, when a shout from across the yard stopped him.

"Axel!"

Axel was extremely relieved when he saw Kairi and Demyx walking toward them from behind the hose with a few cops, both looking extremely nervous. Both Kari and Demyx looked more relaxed when they saw that the bad guys were in the police car. Axel frowned. Where was Riku? Still in the house? Or maybe he had gone off in pursuit of the organization...?

Kairi started to run towards Axel as soon as she had spotted him. As she ran, a gunshot rang out.

Axel moved away from Marluxia as Kairi let out a piercing scream and fell to the ground.

A blue haired, yellow eyed cop chased after the person who had shot the gun, as the gun itself lay forgotten on the ground.

Axel carefully picked Kairi up and carried her to the ambulance that had just driven up, despite being in pain from his own wounds. Axel wanted to make sure Kairi was safe.

Marluxia and Larxene climbed into the ambulance after Kairi and Axel were inside. As soon as the doors were shut, the ambulance sped off, sirens blaring, as it made its way to the hospital. Inside the speeding ambulance, Axel was being convinced to let go of Kairi so that paramedics could tend to her, as Marluxia and Larxene tried to calm him down.

All Axel could think of, however, was how he had let Kairi down. He hadn't been able to protect her, but at least he had given her that vest. Axel glanced over to were Kairi lay, and hoped that she would be all right.

-x-x-

Since it'll be a month or something before I'll update this again (hopefully less), I'll say that no, Kairi isn't dead, as Axel had given her the vest earlier on in the chapter to help protect her. I edited this chapter a lot, so hopefully there aren't any errors.

The story is rated M more for violence than for romance, as one of the categories for the story is tragedy. There will be some hints of romance here and there. Next chapter will be up as soon as I can finish typing and editing it. On a side note, I hadn't realized that 7,000 words was a long chapter when I wrote it, and for now the first ch. will stay as one long chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- For those of you who actually wanted to know how this story ended, I apologize for the delay. However, due to the delay, I believe the ending turned out better, even if it was depressing to write some parts of it.

Note: Remember that Sora, Riku and Kairi are in their early twenties in this story. Any inconsistencies with the previous two chapters will be fixed eventually (meaning I'll go back and edit, and maybe edit this one as well).

Disclaimer: I don't own anything form the Kingdom Hearts series.

xxxxxxxx

At the Twilight City hospital…

Axel and Kairi had been separated into different emergency rooms, Axel being put in a room with Marluxia and Larxene, as their injuries were not as life threatening. There had still been no word where Riku was. Demyx thought that he may have been injured, but no one had remained at his house. This meant that it was more than likely that Riku may have been pursuing whoever had started the attack.

Once their injuries had been seen to, Axel, Larxene, and Marluxia were left in a hospital room to rest and recover from their ordeal. Marluxia and Larxene soon drifted to sleep, but Axel had remained awake. He was still feeling guilty, and hoping against hope that Kairi would be all right with his last minute decision with the item he had given her before they had left his house.

"Axel? Is that you?"

Axel started at the softly spoken question, and sat up in bed, glancing to his right. In a bed next to a window lay Zexion, who was looking back at him calmly. "Hey, I didn't know they put us in the same room." Axel paused, rubbing the back of his neck, looking sheepish, "You feel any better? Demyx made it out like you were at death's door by the way his voice sounded."

Zexion left out a strained chuckle, "Earlier that may have been the case, but I was extremely fortunate." Zexion touched a hand to the side of his head, where it was wrapped in bandages. The slate-haired man smiled wryly, "The doctor told me I was very lucky. If it had been an inch or two in any direction from where I had been hit, I could have been killed instantly."

"Jeez…" Axel grumbled, running a hand over his face, "Did you figure out who those crazy bastards were?" He hoped that the police would torture the criminals they had apprehended or something like that.

Zexion lay back down in bed on his side with a slight sigh, avoiding touching the aching back of his head with the pillow, "The people that cornered Demyx and myself were most likely part of the same group that had been seen harassing Sora about gaining access to a top secret project in the corporate building he worked at. It appears to be the case, because it seems that Sora had overheard some of this groups' conversations about the project. Therefore, they likely assumed that Sora knew how to gain access, though I somehow doubt it. Then again, people like the ones who attacked us don't always make sense." Zexion fell silent as the hospital room door opened.

"Zexion! You're awake!" Demyx's happy exclamation could be heard before the person the voice belonged to appeared in the room. Demyx's mullet/mohawk styled hair was in disarray as he closed the door behind him.

"Hey Demyx." Axel said, completely unfazed by Demyx's sudden appearance, "Did you have any luck finding Riku?"

Demyx crossed the room, shaking his head in response. Before he could reach Zexion and Axel's beds, a pillow flew through the air to smack him right in the face. Demyx stumbled backwards into a wall, "Oww…" Demyx rubbed the back of his head where it had hit the wall, and then his face where the pillow had struck him, before pouting at the pillow thrower.

An irate Larxene glared at Demyx from her own bed, "Don't make me get out of bed and smack you."

"S…Sorry…" Demyx apologized in a small voice, wondering how Marluxia was able to deal with her. They lived together, after all. It was a wonder that neither of them had killed or injured the other yet.

Larxene cast a glare in Axel and Zexion's direction, before getting out of bed and going over to Marluxia's. Larxene poked Marluxia until he mumbled something sleepily and rolled over to make room on the bed. Larxene snuggled under the covers, and once comfortable against Marluxia's back, sent a final glare at the other males in the room before settling down to sleep.

Demyx moved quietly over to Zexion's bed, and, without warning, threw himself onto Zexion in a hug, drawing a grunt of surprise from the smaller male, "I'm so sorry Zexion! I should have done something! I should have been paying better attention to my surroundings!"

Zexion wriggled beneath Demyx's lanky frame, trying to free himself, "It's all right Demyx." Zexion said in a strained voice, not appreciating the unnecessary movement of his head and body in general.

Axel managed a weak laugh, "Let go of him, Demyx. Let him breathe."

Demyx abruptly let go and sat down on a nearby chair, cheeks reddening in embarrassment, "Sorry." He looked at Zexion anxiously, hoping that he was forgiven.

Zexion shook his head as he settled back down, "It's fine…"

Demyx, after making sure that Zexion was all right, and that he was forgiven for his spontaneous action, he turned to Axel, "I'm glad that you guys aren't too badly hurt." Demyx trailed off, wilting under Axel's intense gaze, "W…What is it Axel?"

Something had been nagging at Axel since he and Kairi had met Demyx at his home. "What were you going to say earlier? You looked like you wanted to say something after Kairi had said that she was hoped that Sora would be all right." Axel asked tonelessly, staring at Demyx unblinkingly. He felt uneasy for some reason.

Demyx twiddled his thumbs, looking away from Axel, "Oh, ah…ahahaha…that is…um…well…"

"Demyx…" Axel said warningly.

Demyx got up and hugged Zexion again, drawing a faint sound of protest from the injured man, "Lexaeus…he told me that the people he had sent out…found Sora…"

Axel stared at the back of Demyx's head. No, it couldn't be… "And?" Axel prompted lowly, almost not wanting to know, but needing to hear it anyway.

Demyx buried his face against Zexion's chest, "They…they found him dead. Lexaeus learned that Sora refused to help the group gain access to the top secret project, even though he didn't even really know much about it. Sora only knew what he had overhead the group who wanted to steal it knew about it."

Zexion wriggled free, and Demyx cried into the blankets instead. Zexion sighed, patting Demyx lightly on the head, while trying to ignore his own throbbing head, "It seems that it wasn't the answer the group desired. Did Lexaeus learn anything else?"

Demyx mumbled some incoherent words (in Axel's opinion) but Zexion apparently understood him.

"The group was targeting Kairi because they thought that she might have known about their arguments with Sora." Zexion interpreted for Axel.

Demyx nodded glumly in agreement into the blankets and sheets, sniffing.

A knock sounded on the door.

"Come in." Zexion said, as Demyx tilted his head to the side to see who it was.

The door opened, revealing Lexaeus, who entered the room.

"Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you got to after taking Zexion and me to the hospital," Demyx stated.

Axel realized that Lexaeus appeared uneasy, "What's up?"

Lexaeus shook his head in irritation, "The three who were apprehended by the police managed to escape while being taken to the station.

"What?" Axel exclaimed, rising out of bed abruptly and startling Demyx. Axel's next statement was smothered by a pillow to his face.

A peeved Larxene sent a death glare at the red head, "Shut up already!"

Axel threw the pillow back at her with a snarl, "You shut up! The assholes that attacked us got away!" Axel rounded on Lexaeus, "Where are they? Where did those bastards go?"

Lexaeus was momentarily taken aback at Axel's sudden rage, but managed an answer, "It appears that they've fled to the warehouse across from the corporate building Sora worked at. The police are gathering their forces and will raid them soon."

Axel was already finished changing out of a hospital gown and into some nearby clothes by the time Lexaeus had finished speaking. Axel ran out of the room with a limp, a look of determination his face.

Zexion shook his head despairingly, "Lexaeus? Would you please go with him and make sure that he doesn't get himself killed. Kairi will be upset to hear about Sora's untimely demise. She doesn't need anyone else leaving her life so soon."

Lexaeus nodded, "I will go." He turned and rushed out of the room after Axel.

Demyx sat down on Axel's now empty hospital bed, a worried expression on his face, "Will he be all right?"

Zexion managed a faint shrug, "As long as he doesn't do anything too rash…" Zexion let out another sigh, "Which he will most certainly act in anyway." Zexion gasped as a pillow hit him with deadly accuracy from across the room, causing pain to flare through his head as the world spun out of focus for a moment.

Larxene was half out of bed, another pillow in her hand ready to throw, "Are you going to be quiet yet? I have a damn headache and I don't need you idiots babbling and making it worse!"

"Calm down, Larxene," Marluxia murmured, his uninjured hand reaching up and grasping Larxene's nearest arm, in an attempt to keep her from causing anyone else anymore injury.

"…Fine, but if they wake me up…" Larxene trailed off, letting the warning linger as she shot Demyx and Zexion a look of pure evil, before settling down in bed again.

Marluxia patted her arm sleepily, "Yes, yes, you'll make them rue the day they were born, call them horrible names and use them in target practice."

Larxene turned and gave Marluxia a kiss on the cheek, "Like I said, as long as they're quiet…"

Zexion made himself comfortable in bed again, in no mood to deal with an angry Larxene. At least Marluxia had put an arm around her back in an attempt to keep her from rising and causing trouble.

Demyx lay down on Axel's abandoned bed, hugging a pillow to his chest. He was afraid to make any noise at all, lest Larxene make good on her threats. He'd seen what Larxene was capable of, and he didn't fancy seeing what would happen to him. Demyx closed his eyes. He was, however, a little distracted by the thought of where Riku could have gotten to.

xxx

Axel hadn't even bothered looking for a vehicle on his way out of the hospital. He was on a one-track mind as he walked swiftly along the sidewalk, his injured leg seemingly forgotten. Axel hadn't even realized that Lexaeus was following after him. Axel passed by the ruins of Kairi's house fifteen minutes later, and within a half hour arrived outside the corporate building that Sora had worked at. Axel halted, staring at the abandoned warehouse across the street. So that was where those guys had run off to.

"Axel, what do you think you are doing?" Lexaeus asked, "It would probably be a very good idea to wait for the police."

Axel began to cross the street, "Yeah, you do that, but I'm going in. I can't forgive them for what they've done to Kairi and to Sora!"

Lexaeus watched as Axel reached the warehouse doors and snuck into it. Lexaeus took out his cell phone and dialed the police, hoping that the police were already on their way.

xxx

Axel kept to the shadows as he made his way around the warehouse. It did appear to be abandoned, but Axel wasn't so sure. On the way in, he had found a flamethrower, and had brought it along with him despite the added weight. Axel crept behind a few storage containers, hiding behind them as he peered around them cautiously. Thirty feet away stood a group of people who were arguing amongst themselves. He recognized those who had attacked Demyx's house, and turned the flamethrower on. They wouldn't be arguing for much longer.

With a deep breath, Axel threw himself from behind the containers, and put the flamethrower on full blast, "Eat this you dirty bastards!" Flames erupted from the end of the torch, heading right for the stunned group of men, whose arguments were forgotten by the sight.

xxx

Demyx had escaped the hospital room and Larxene's irritability, deciding to go and check on Kairi. The hospital staff should know by now if Kairi was going to be all right or not. The nurse had allowed Demyx inside with a smile, which he took as a good sign. Demyx approached Kairi's bed nervously, hoping that she _was _fine. Demyx brightened up instantly when he saw that Kairi was awake and sitting up.

Kairi smiled when she spotted Demyx, "Oh Demyx, I'm glad to see that you're all right."

"And you are too. Everyone was really worried," Demyx responded, sinking down into a chair in relief. If only Axel had come to check on Kairi, he wouldn't be in danger of being hurt again.

Kairi touched the bandages beneath her shirt, "The doctor said I was very lucky. He said that if I hadn't been wearing the bulletproof vest, I probably wouldn't have made it."

"Bulletproof vest?" Demyx echoed, tilting his head in a questioning gesture.

Kairi nodded, "Yes, I didn't recognize it at first when Axel had me put it on at his house. All I have are some bruises and one partially cracked rib." Kairi paused, looking around the room, "By the way, where is Axel? I wanted to thank him." Kairi turned back to Demyx, who now looked uncomfortable. She frowned a little, "Demyx, where is he?"

Demyx avoided eye contact, "He…he went after the people that attacked us. They escaped from the police and went to their hideout in the warehouse across from where Sora works…" Demyx clapped a hand over his mouth and swore under his breath, quickly turning his attention to Kairi, who had risen out of the hospital bed. Demyx hurried over to the door and planted himself in front of it, "You can't go after him Kairi. You might get hurt!"

Kairi smiled sweetly at Demyx, "You don't have to worry about me so much Demyx. I'll be fine."

Demyx shook his head several times, "No, I won't let you!"

"Demyx…" Kairi said with a strained smile, approaching Demyx, who had plastered himself against the door.

Minutes later Kairi hurried out of the hospital, hoping that she would be able to reach Axel before he did anything stupid. Even Sora wouldn't have acted so rashly, and wanted to make sure that Axel wouldn't get himself injured.

Back inside the hospital, a bound and gagged Demyx struggled to free himself. He hadn't known Kairi could be so scary. Just when he was about to give up, a shadow fell over him and the gag was removed. Demyx glanced up and let out a gasp, "Riku! Where have you been?"

Riku shook his head, "I was trying to find those people that attacked you all. I lost track of them and came here." Riku looked over Demyx's head at the empty hospital room, and his eyes widened. Riku's gaze went to Demyx, teal eyes fierce, "Where is Kairi? The nurse said she was in this room!"

"She…she went after Axel. Those guys that attacked us? Their hideout is the warehouse across from where Sora used to work…" Demyx clamped his mouth shut as a look of shock crossed Riku's features, the past tense not escaping his notice.

"Sora's…gone? They killed him?" Riku asked numbly, the pain and loss evident in his voice as he choked out the question.

Demyx nodded, unable to say anything. Riku would have found out eventually, but Demyx didn't think that it would be a good idea for Riku to chase after them in case he ended up injured or dead as well.

Riku turned away, his expression now unreadable, "Does Kairi know?"

"No…I…I couldn't tell her…" Demyx responded in a small voice.

Riku took a shuddering breath, "Sora told me...that he was going to propose to her, you know, after he got his promotion. That would've been tomorrow." Riku clenched a fist, and Demyx shrank against the chair he was tied against at the look of fury and pain that had entered Riku's eyes. Without another word, Riku sprinted out of view, and it was only then that Demyx realized that he was still tied up. Demyx's voice echoed after Riku, "Hey! You forgot to untie me!"

Riku didn't hear him. He had let Kairi down. He hadn't been able to protect Sora. Riku grit his teeth. He wasn't going to let these people get away with harming his friends without answering to him. They were going to regret what they had done to Sora, and in turn, to Kairi. Even now Riku was desperately trying to push beck the memory of Sora excitedly showing him the rings that he had bought, and how Sora had been embarrassed that he had waited for so long and hoped that Kairi would still say yes and marry him when he would come home that day after being promoted.

xxx

Kairi skirted by Lexaeus without being seen, as he was lost in an argument with someone on the other end of the phone. Kairi went into the warehouse, and felt her way along in the dark. Faint light streamed up ahead, and Kairi could now make out large storage containers. Soon, she began to hear low voices arguing, before she heard a distinct voice cut through the mostly quiet warehouse.

"Eat this you dirty bastards!"

"Axel…" Kairi murmured worriedly, moving toward the source of the voices. Why was Axel attacking people? Shouldn't he let the police deal with them? Kairi peered around the containers and saw Axel torching anything within reach, animate or inanimate, anger etched on his face

The men were shouting at one another, trying to avoid the flames and deal with the one who had started it. "Get him Xigbar!" A blond man shouted, scrambling backwards from the flames.

The man wearing the eye patch, Xigbar, fumbled for his gun as Axel drew closer with the flamethrower.

Kairi heard someone breaking into the warehouse, and assumed that it was the police. Kairi turned back and saw that Axel was too distracted to notice that he was being targeted by someone else, a white haired man with blue tinted tips. Kairi dashed out from her hiding place toward the red-head, "Look out Axel!"

Axel turned the flamethrower off, shocked yet pleased that Kairi appeared to be unharmed. Then, he let out a gasp as the situation they were in sunk in, "Kairi? What are you doing here? Are you crazy?"

"Ansem!" Xigbar yelled over the flames flicking at flammable crates, cursing as he realized that his gun was stuck in its holster.

The white haired man, Ansem, aimed the gun at Kairi instead, a nasty smile on his face.

Riku suddenly came out of nowhere with a cry of fury at the sight of a gun aimed at Kairi. Riku knocked Ansem over, causing the gun to go flying out of his hand. Ansem snarled in fury and started to grapple with Riku, straining to recover his gun.

Axel rushed towards Kairi as Riku and Ansem went rolling out of sight. Kairi hurried toward him, stumbling as a gunshot rang out. Axel caught her and fell to the ground with her, and this time Axel could tell that it wasn't good. Axel heard Riku let out a cry of pain, and Xigbar swearing as Axel rolled and threw himself on top of Kairi as more gunshots rang out. This time, however, the bullets were being fired by the police, who had finally arrived.

Once things had gone silent, Axel sat up and cradled Kairi gently, choking back a gasp as he felt warmth against Kairi's back. She hadn't worn the bullet proof vest. Blood was seeping from between Axel's fingers as he tried to staunch the blood flow. "Hang on; I'll get you to the hospital." Axel murmured as he carried Kairi out of the burning building and out into the breezy evening. Stars dotted the sky as they danced around the full moon.

"Axel!"

Axel turned and saw Riku hurrying toward them, his upper left arm being clutched by his right. Axel avoided Riku's gaze and muttered, "She was hit. We need to get her to a hospital."

Axel and Riku froze as Kairi coughed and struggled for breath as she snuggled up against Axel's chest. She smiled faintly as she gazed up at the sky. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Axel glanced up at the sky, swallowed hard and nodded, "Yes, it is."

Kairi gripped Axel's shirt loosely, "It's a bit cold out, isn't it?"

Riku clenched a fist again as Axel closed his eyes, breathing in deeply in an attempt to calm down. It was a warm evening. Axel began to walk as fast as he dared, Riku keeping pace along side him, sadness replacing the anger in his eyes. Where was the ambulance?

"Axel?"

"Hmm?" Axel came to a halt, his injured leg finally beginning to hurt. He doubted that he could make it all the way to the hospital without his leg giving out.

Kairi smiled faintly up at him, "I'm glad you're not hurt."

Axel swallowed roughly, "You will be fine too." Please, please let an ambulance appear. He thought silently.

"Riku? Is he okay? I thought I saw him there too."

Riku moved closer so that Kairi could see him and managed a smile, "I'm right here. I'm fine."

"That's good. You and Axel really are reckless…" Kairi tilted her head up at Axel, "What about…Sora? Did anyone find him?"

Axel couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. He didn't want to see her sad. Riku, who stood nearby, couldn't say anything either. However, had Kairi seen the haunted look in Riku's eyes, she would have known in an instant what had happened to Sora. Hating himself for it, Axel lied, "Yeah, Sora managed to get out of the city. He was planning on coming back as soon as he could."

"I hope he'll be here soon," Kairi aid softly, closing her eyes.

"Kairi?" Riku questioned, his voice cracking. He couldn't take this. He couldn't lose his two best friends. A few tense moments passed before Kairi responded.

Kairi opened her eyes and gazed through blurry eyes up at Axel, seemingly not seeing Riku looking over Axel's shoulder worriedly. Kairi smiled, tears forming in her eyes. "Sora…it's you. Axel said you'd come to see me. I'm sorry I was angry at you when you went to work."

Riku looked away, dreading what was surely to happen. He couldn't take much more of this. It felt like his heart was being crushed.

Axel held back his own tears. Kairi thought he was Sora, which meant she must be close to slipping away. He decided to play along, wanting her final moments to be happy. "It's not your fault. I didn't want you to become involved. I'm the one who should be sorry."

Kairi shook her head, "We can both be sorry." Kairi reached up and brought a hand to rest on Axel's right cheek lightly, "Why are you being so formal, Sora? Don't you usually greet me with a kiss?"

Axel's heart skipped a beat and his breath caught in his throat. Him? Kiss Kairi? He exchanged glances with Riku, who nodded his head slightly before looking away again, his emotions in turmoil. Axel turned his gaze back down to Kairi. She didn't look too well, and probably wouldn't make it to the hospital, even if an ambulance turned up now. Axel, after a moment's hesitation, leaned forward and brought his lips to Kairi's in a soft, tender kiss. Kairi tried her best to return it, her strength fading quickly. Axel pulled away and looked down at Kairi. She was smiling faintly, her attention over Axel's shoulder.

"Oh, hi Riku. Didn't know you were here. Make sure Sora gets home after work? He stays up late…" Kairi closed her eyes, "I'm tired Sora…" She took a deep breath and when she let it out, she said something softly before going limp in Axel's arms.

Tears dropped onto Kairi's face as Axel took a deep, shuddering breath and whispered, "I love you too, Kairi…"

Only Axel would never know if she had still been talking to Sora, or if she had had a moment of clarity, and had actually been speaking to him.

Riku's face was full of pain as he looked disbelievingly over Axel's shoulder at Kairi's peaceful face, "Is she..?" He choked, unable to accept what he was seeing.

Axel, however, could say nothing, in as much shock as Riku was, and it had nothing to do with their injuries.

Xxx

Sora and Kairi's funeral was held in the afternoon the next day, and many showed up, from co-workers to family to friends and even a few acquaintances who had only met them in passing. Even though Demyx couldn't see them, he knew that Axel and Riku were listening in nearby. Demyx sighed sadly. Kairi's death had been hard on Axel, but Sora and Kairi's deaths were hardest on Riku, who had grown up with them since they were children. Demyx hoped that they would talk to their friends and not suffer alone in silence.

From a nearby tree, Axel and Riku stood watching the funeral, but neither could bring themselves to come any closer until everyone, including Demyx and Zexion, had left.

Axel and Riku both approached the graves slowly, as if expecting to see one or both of the deceased come back. Axel knelt before both of the graves, while Riku stayed back a bit further, the silver haired young man still not fully comprehending his friends' deaths.

Axel bowed his head, "I'm sorry that I couldn't protect her, Sora. I tried. I really did. And I'm also sorry that you never really liked me. We might have been able to be friends...who knows…" Axel drifted off and gazed at Kairi's name etched into the stoned grave marker, "Kairi…I don't know whether you meant me or Sora yesterday night, but I do love you. I just knew that it would never work out, so I never asked you out or anything." Axel placed a tiny flower on top of the grave and stood up.

Axel stared down at the flower, "I am sorry, I did my best. Maybe we'll meet again sometime…" Axel walked away from the graves and retreated to where Riku was standing, and waited as he went forward to pay his respects to his friends' graves.

Xxx

Three months had passed since Kairi had died, and Axel was staying at Riku's house while he figured out what he was going to do about getting another place of his own. He hadn't known at the time that the group that had attacked him had destroyed his house as well. Axel was currently by himself, as Riku had checked himself into the hospital, feeling depressed and suicidal. Their deaths had hit him especially hard, and Riku had been having a difficult time getting on with his life when many things around him ended up reminding him of his lost friends. However, Riku knew that Kairi and Sora wouldn't have wanted him to do himself harm, and had let Axel have free reign of his house while he was gone.

It was late afternoon when Axel went to visit Kairi's grave. He was about to leave when he noticed Demyx approaching him. Demyx gazed down at Sora and Kairi's graves for a moment, before turning to Axel, "I've been trying to get a hold of you, but you weren't answering your calls." Demyx rummaged around in a pocket and took a small necklace out of his pocket and passed it over to Axel, who accepted it silently. "The doctor found that with Kairi the day she died. You recognize it, don't you? You were the one who gave it to her." Demyx laughed, this one genuine, "Oh, we all thought it was a great joke to make Sora jealous, but Kairi must have thought otherwise if she kept it with her all these years." Demyx fell silent as he heard Zexion calling to him from a distance.

"Oh, gotta go. Come hang out with us sometime, all right? You and Riku need to mingle with the living." Demyx began to walk away, but paused and looked over his shoulder at Axel, who was still staring at the necklace, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. When Kairi left the hospital to go find you, she said that if she hadn't been seeing Sora…" Demyx broke off and looked away to compose himself, "Kairi said that she…she would have liked to have been with you." Demyx fell silent and shuffled his feet, "Talk to you tomorrow, all right?" Seeing the faint nod, Demyx left Axel alone.

Axel stepped forward and looped the necklace around a bottle of flowers, smiling sadly. Then, without a word, he turned and trailed after Demyx.

Two butterflies, one pale pink, the other pale blue, landed on the charm, wings fluttering as the wind gently buffeted the necklace.

The late afternoon sun blazed down, causing the necklace to shine brightly. No voices could be heard, only the slight howling of the wind, and the tiny butterflies movements.

The denizens of the graves found final rest and peace amongst loved ones, as the butterflies moved on, twirling around one another as they moved on with their lives.

xxxxxxxxxx

A/N- I finally finished this story! It took me long enough. Ugh

And since this is angst/tragedy, there was more violence/death for the M rating, and not as much romance, as the circumstances didn't really permit it.

I'd forgotten all about how sad the ending was. It would have been even sadder if I had kept it the way it was (where Axel and Riku die too) but adding more of Riku into the story changed it. Yeah, don't know what else to say other than: here it is, the ending of the story that took me _way_ too many years to finish.


End file.
